Our invention relates to machine tools in general and, in particular, to those for creating holes in, or otherwise working on, generally flat work, with provisions for the loading and unloading of the work. The machine of our invention has particular utility in conjunction with the creation of holes in preassigned positions in printed circuit boards (PCBs), although we do not wish our invention to be unnecessarily limited to this particular application.
A variety of PCB drilling machines have been suggested and used in the electronics industry. Generally, such machines comprise a motor driven toolhead disposed above a table, and work transfer means for loading and unloading successive PCBs on and from the table. Perhaps typical of such machines is the one disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 59-156644. This prior art apparatus has a work loading and unloading mechanism disposed between the drilling machine proper and a work storage station disposed forwardly of the machine.
We object to this known configuration because of the large installation space demanded by the complete apparatus. As an additional disadvantage, the noted loading and unloading mechanism constitutes an entity nearly independent of the drilling machine proper, adding substantially to the total number of the constituent parts. Controlling the operation of the apparatus including the loading and unloading mechanism is also not so easy as can be desired. Still further, since the work is reciprocated between the table and the remote storage station, the prior art apparatus requires a considerable length of time for work loading and unloading.